Meet the independent judging panel SportsPro recruited to ensure a fair, impartial and independent process.
Balancing senior OTT stakeholders from international rights holders, broadcasters and technology leaders, our judges offer an unrivalled pool of expertise & knowledge to ensure judging criteria is met by only the most rigorous of standards.
CEO
Andreas Heyden was appointed CEO of new German streaming service, S Nation Media in August 2022. He has previously worked at Deutsche Fussball League as chief executive of DFL Digital Sports, the digital content and distribution subsidiary of the league. Heyden has worked across various aspects of the media industry, including video on demand (VoD), over-the-top content (OTT), and in augmented reality, AI, and 5G applications. S Media Nation is due to launch in the third quarter of 2023 and aims to be the new German home of sports other than football.
Chief Content Officer
Melissa Lawton is responsible for Live Sports Production Strategy at Facebook. She’s charged with helping Facebook’s partners redefine the live sports viewing experience to foster deeper and more meaningful connections between fans and the broadcasters, teams, leagues and athletes they follow. In this role, Melissa will design production strategies that inspire partners to fully leverage the interactive and social potential of video on Facebook. She’ll also work closely with the Facebook product team to develop the tools partners need to deliver sports broadcasts for the next generation of fans.
Melissa joined Facebook after five years as the Head of Live Content at Red Bull Media House, working specifically on the creation and expansion of Red Bull’s media network, Red Bull TV. In this capacity, she oversaw a global production team that produced premium, live third-party sports, music and culture events and many ‘beyond the ordinary’ Red Bull competitions across the globe.
Global Digital Director
Bhavesh Patel is currently the Chief Digital Officer at beIN Media Group based in Paris. He is working on building their next generation global OTT platform and driving innovation across the group. Prior, Bhavesh was an OTT strategy advisor for CBS Studios International and Verizon Go90, headed up Betfair’s US horserace wagering business, and led the launch of FOX Soccer 2 Go and NBA International League Pass.
Marketing Director
Kim joined the Foxtel Group in 2019 after spending two seasons at Cricket Australia as Head of Big Bash Leagues (BBL), which included delivering the first ever standalone Women’s BBL final with a sold-out crowd. Prior to this, she spent 15 years with PepsiCo, most recently as Head of Sports Marketing based at their global HQ in New York, leading initiatives such as the Pepsi Superbowl Halftime Show. Kim was appointed Marketing Director of Kayo Sports in October 2020, leading brand management and go to market strategy for Australia’s leading sports streaming business.
SVP of Product
Tom has worked in the sports broadcast industry for over 18 years and is currently SVP of Product at DAZN. Before moving to DAZN, Tom was Global Head of Digital at Eleven Sports where he was responsible for the strategy and development of the OTT product globally. He oversaw launches in new markets and drove platform innovations like the Sports Pro OTT award-winning Watch Together tool. Tom was also previously Head of Video at Sky Sports.
Research Director
Media Rights Consultant
Executive Vice President, Global Productions
Barney Francis joined IMG as Executive Vice President, Head of Global Production, in November 2021. He oversees the production of thousands of hours of content on behalf of more than 200 federations, associations and events to help them reach new and existing fans in creative and compelling ways. Widely-respected as one of the leading sports executives in the world, Francis was largely responsible for establishing Sky Sports as the leading UK sport broadcaster during his 20-year spell with the organization. As Managing Director, he grew the channel offering from 5 channels to 11, adding premium sports such as Formula 1, the Masters, The Open and NBA to the portfolio while also increasing the number of Premier League matches shown on Sky. He also oversaw continued technological innovation with developments in 3D, Ultra HD, virtual reality and the continued growth of Sky Sports’ digital, social and online presence. Prior to his role as Managing Director, Francis was Sky Sports’ Executive Producer for Football and Cricket, producing a range of live coverage, support programming and sport news content. His production credits include the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, the ICC Cricket World Cup and Test cricket.
Director Content & Media Production
Carsten has been Director Media Production at DFL Digital Sports since 2019 and in this role is responsible for the Bundesliga’s video and photo production. He joined DFL Digital Sports in 2014 as Head of Broadcast & Video Content and previously held editorially responsible positions at various TV stations (Sport1, LIGA total!) and Red Bull Media House.
Director of Digital Strategy & Content
Broadcaster Service Manager
My name is Miguel Buhigas. I have been part of the Olympic family for more than 7 years. I am currently Broadcaster Service Manager at Olympic Broadcasting Services-OBS, Host broadcaster of the Olympic Summer and Winter Games, Youth games and Paralympic games. I have been part of OBS Broadcaster Service team in the Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic games. In my role we are OBS’s main point of contact for the Rights Holding Broadcasters worldwide, managing their overall service needs and requests before and during the Games, channelling their projects through OBS and ensuring the quality of the technical aspects. Always aiming to bring the RHB Olympic projects and platforms to the next level. With special emphasis I have been leading the Paralympic games RHB projects within OBS.
Head of Content & Programming
Director, Microsoft Sports
Technologist in the Sports Industry for over 5 years, previously in Financial Services for over 20 years. Lead all Data and AI efforts for our sports business at Microsoft.
Founder
Deltatre’s Group Chief Evangelist Carlo De Marchis has 35 years of experience in sports tech – as an early adopter of the web, he has spearheaded innovation in digital for many of the most relevant sports and media properties worldwide. Lately focusing on OTT, Direct To Consumer and AI/ML, he is also exploring the world of crypto, NFT, web3 and the metaverse to help the industry in yet another transformational moment.
Freelance Journalist, Broadcaster & Media Consultant
Charles Paterson is currently operating on a freelance basis (since August 2021) working with a number of different businesses and broadcasters.
Prior to this, Charles was a broadcaster and journalist for 16 years for Sky Sports and Sky News, producing output across multiple live platforms. Paterson worked on the ground live at some of the most high profile sporting events in the world, including: the Champions League; Scotland internationals; Scottish Premiership and English Premier League matches; multiple Open golf championships; the Ryder Cup; the Solheim Cup; the Rugby World Cup; and the Commonwealth Games.
Charles now works as a media consultant and creator of content for various parties. In the last few months, these have included PFA Scotland, Premier League Productions and the Scottish Rugby Union.
Paterson’s most recent work is as Digital Consultant for Rugby League World Cup 2021, providing expertise and producing original content ahead of the tournament in the autumn, whilst liaising with marketing and communications directors to drive stakeholder engagement.
EVP Marketing & Strategy
Senior Director APJ Media Rights
After almost 10 years purely focusing on fighting sports-related media rights distribution and being part of the tremendous growth of this specific industry, partnering and working for the biggest companies (UFC, ONE Championship, K-1, Enfusion, etc), I have decided to take on a new challenge: Esports.
I have always been very keen to build up so-called “niche content” to a mainstream level in terms of monetization and recognition.
Esports, such as fighting sports in its early days, is an industry that has not exploited all its potential and I am eager to be here when it will skyrocket.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Professional Services
Group Director of Analytics and Research
Matt is currently Group Director of Analytics & Research at beIN MEDIA GROUP and is responsible for the delivery of commercial insights, analytics, data and intelligence across the global beIN portfolio. While at beIN, Matt has made a significant contribution to beIN’s global media rights acquisition strategy, and led growth projects within the MENA Pay-TV business.  Most recently, Matt led the commercial launch of TOD (www.tod.tv/en), the game-changing SVoD service offering more than 10k hours of premium entertainment content plus all of beIN Sports live, in MENA.
COO
Marcin Serafin. COO in Ekstraklasa Live Park – TV production company owned by Ekstraklasa – responsible for TV feed production of all 306 games per season since 2011. Former reporter and producer in Canal+, TVP, and Polsat, Deputy Editor in Chief at Orange Sport. From September 2011, responsible for all TV development and production operations in Live Park. Technical and production advisor and operator of PZPN (Polish Football Association) in the VAR project. Head of EkstraklasaTV OTT project.
Executive Director
Jason Thibeault is the Executive Director of the Streaming Video Alliance, a global technical association of companies collaborating to solve critical challenges in delivering a better streaming video experience at scale. He is a recognized expert voice in the streaming industry and is a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine. Jason is also the co-founder of Datazoom, a startup focused on homogenizing streaming video data collecting and increasing the speed of data acquisition. Prior to his current role, Jason spent eight years at Limelight Networks, a leading CDN, where he held several roles including product manager and marketing strategist. He is also an inventor of multiple technical patents in streaming and cloud technologies and the co-author of one marketing book.
Head of Sports Communications & Social Media Manager
Iván Justel has a degree in Journalism from the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid and more than 13 years’ experience in the world of Communication, Social Media and Digital Marketing, always closely associated with audiovisual and OTT projects. He currently holds the position of Head of Sports Communications & Social Media Manager at the MEDIAPRO Group, where he spearheads a range of digital strategy teams and projects. Iván has also received certification in many areas related to the world of communication and digital environments, including Social Media Management, Corporate Communications, Digital Rights and Audience Growth on YouTube.
Head of Content
General Manager
Disruptor entrepreneur, Mexican, current General Manager of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. Responsible for the success and transformation of Mexican Lucha Libre in the international landscape for the last 17 years, he has travelled the world bringing Lucha Libe to other industries like cinema, video gaming, live events, super heros storytelling and some others, always aiming to expand the growing Lucha Libre fanbase around the globe.
Head of Engineering: Post & Workflows
Head of Engineering: Post Production and Workflows – 22+ Years’ experience across the industry, working at IMG Studios helping to create all kinds of media content for some of the biggest sporting federations on the planet.
Founder
Andrew is the founder of 1896 Partners where he works with investors and leadership teams across the sports and entertainment industry on investments, partnerships, and strategy development.
Andrew was most recently VP Global Strategy & Corporate Development at WWE, where he partnered with the exec team on all elements of its global business strategy including media rights, live events, sponsorship, etc.
In his role, Andrew also oversaw WWE’s corporate venture and innovation activities that included sourcing partnerships and investment opportunities from banks, VCs, and start-ups. Most recently he sourced, diligenced, and led WWE’s investments in the Premier Lacrosse League and JomBoy Media. In leading WWE’s venture activities, Andrew also represented WWE as a Board Observer as part of investments in Cloud9 (leading esports org) and FloSports (niche sports OTT service).
Before WWE, Andrew was a management consultant at The Parthenon Group in Boston working with private equity and corporate clients on investment due diligence and growth strategy engagements. In the sports and entertainment sector, notable assignments included The Kraft Group, Legends Hospitality, and Under Armour.
Director of Broadcast Operations
Director, Graphics & Innovation
Alex has worked in the entertainment and sports industries for more than twenty-five years. His true passion is graphics in broadcast and streaming, having played a key role in bringing award-winning visual experiences to some of the U.K’s biggest shows and sports broadcasts to life.
His range of creative executions range from rebranding Britain’s Got Talent to being the lead graphic designer on X-Factor, working for leading broadcast networks and brands spanning MTV, Nickelodeon and Burberry to name a few.
With a philosophy of sporting being the ultimate entertainment experience, Alex brought this expertise to sport while spending 10 years at ITV Sport as lead graphic designer. This included delivering the virtual ‘roof’ studio for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the full design package for Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup coverage and graphics for a range of popular sports such as Horse Racing, Tennis, Football, etc.
Alex joined Discovery (now Warner Bros. Discovery Sports) as Head of Graphics for its multi-sport broadcaster, Eurosport. Together with the Content & Production leadership, he spearheaded the development of the award-winning Cube studio, building from its use at tennis Grand Slams during the pandemic through Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to creating a whole virtual world for Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
VP Strategic Partnership & Business Development
Allie Dinsmore is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development at the Professional Fighters League (PFL). In her current role, she works with external partners to monetize the league’s IP across verticals, including brand licensing, collectibles, data, content distribution and more. In 2022, she launched the PFL’s FAST channel across global platforms and continues to manage the distribution and programming strategy of the channel. Prior to the PFL, Allie worked at Verizon as part of their Corporate Strategy and Content Strategy & Acquisition teams.
Head of International PR
Over a decade spent working at the forefront of China’s fast-developing sports digital industry, spanning roles across business development, PR, media rights, and brand. Currently, I head up the communications and brand department at China’s leading sports digital agency Mailman, which includes running the PR department P&L, maintaining media & industry relationsips, producing the company’s industry newsletter, and handling client relationships.
Regularly featured on podcasts and in media publications, I deliver a bridge between the often misunderstood Chinese sports market and the west.
Fluent in Mandarin, I gain greater insights and access into the Chinese market and integrate in high-level discussions with China’s leading sports industry decision-makers.
Senior Director of Media Rights
I am currently Senior Director of Media Rights at Warner Bros Discovery, leading the global acquisitions and sales of our Golf rights portfolio.
This includes both broadcasting content across our various linear and digital platforms (Eurosport, Discovery+, GOLFTV) as well as sub-licensing rights to our various international TV partners – built upon our long-term partnership with the PGA Tour.
My previous companies include Sky Sports, Prozone/STATS and more recently Lagardere/Sportfive which was a strategic commercial role involving the acquisition and sales of media, data and betting rights – managing key rights holders and partnerships.
CEO
Russell is the CEO of Stadion and before that was Chief Digital Officer of Paris Saint-Germain where he was responsible for strategy, execution and commercial for the club’s digital area. He led the digital transformation of the club as he had done before in similar roles for FC Barcelona and Manchester City FC.
Preceding Barça he was Product Development Director at Perform Group which included Goal.com, the largest global football site, and was also part of the innovation committee which developed projects such as DAZN. Russell was on the board of Dugout prior to the merger with OneFootball.
CEO
Dr. Mintas is a high-profile Entrepreneur, Investor and Thought Leader in the Technology and Sports Industry on a global level. She has been involved in various roles as a High Executive or Strategic Advisor in the Sports, Sports Betting & iGaming, Media & Entertainment and Crypto space.
She has extensive and unique experience in the Sports Betting space having worked in the space in many different roles – as a C-level Executive of major Sports Organizations such as FIFA and CONCACAF, the leading sports betting and media data company with Sportradar; a very innovative, omni-channel Betting Platform with Betworks and as a disruptive B-C sports betting, fantasy, iGaming and horse racing operator with PlayUp. Through her roles as Strategic Advisor, she was involved in many deals across the industry, including the sports media, betting and crypto world.
Founder & Managing Director
Mini bio: Experienced Business Development Manager and entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of launching and developing new projects in the sports events and broadcast media industry. Founded NSports in 2018 that nowadays operates the official streaming channel of 17 different sports entities in Brazil
President
SSI provides strategic consulting and business development for established and start-up technology companies servicing the sports television and new media markets. Its principal, Doug Billman, has 45 years of experience in sports marketing, corporate consulting, television production/distribution, digital media rights/production, and sales. He has acted as the senior executive for multiple companies over the last 30 years.
Since its establishment in 2003, SSI has served over 50 clients (25% of them Israeli), helping them to refine their product offering, develop business strategies, acquire customers and partners, and raise growth capital or identify M&A opportunities. SSI’s network of relationships within the sports industry and the now-robust sports tech investment sector continues to grow.
Head of Business Development & Broadcast Partnering
Louisa has worked at BT (Consumer) since the evolution of BT TV and was heavily involved in the launch of BTSport after BT secured its first set of key rights for the Premier League. Working in Business Development across the BT business, but with a core focus on Sport and TV, Louisa has negotiated commercial agreements with all sizes of partners critical in delivering amazing customer experiences across devices and channels. Building long-term partnerships with rightsholders, broadcast infrastructure suppliers and social media partners with a view to developing new ways to deliver content (Subscription, Free-to-Air, Pay-per-view), whilst bringing value to consumers and the BT TV and BT Sport businesses. Born and raised in the north-east of England but living with her two children in Hertfordshire who keep her on her toes and in touch with what today’s younger consumers demand from content and the viewing experience.
Director of Mobile Strategy
Matt has over 25 years’ experience in mobile media and entertainment and Sport. He has been voted in the top 50 most influential people in online TV for four years running and in 2017 he was awarded the TV Connect People’s Choice award for the ‘Person who made the biggest impact on the connected entertainment industry’Within BT Sport he is responsible for developing the broadcaster’s mobile capabilities and long-term mobile strategy recently leading the team that delivered the award-winning worlds 1st remotely produced live sporting over 5G. He is also currently developing the strategy and roadmap for Augmented and Mixed Reality As part of the wider BT Group Matt is also developing the technology strategy for the Broadcast, Media & Entertainment over 4/5G. This encompasses an end to end approach incorporating both contribution and distribution of media. |
CEO
Chief Media Officer
With over 20 years in the sports industry, having working previously for the ICC, Ten Sports and IMG Media/TWI, Aarti has extensive experience in delivering strategies to drive sustainable growth, engage diverse fans and deliver value. As a strong believer in the power of sport to inspire and impact positive change in society, Aarti has joined forces with Formula E, in her current role as the all-electric racing series’ Chief Media Officer. Aarti leads on media partnerships and distribution, digital content and product development, broadcast coverage and fan engagement across channels, bringing to life Formula E’s vision to accelerate sustainable human progress through the power of electric racing.
Director of News & Sports Partnerships, EMEA
Founder
Panagiotis Aroniadis is the Founder of Stars Inc.11, a 360 Media Agency that specialises in Digital Strategy, Content Creation and Branding.
Stars Inc.11 was shortlisted in the Best Original Content category 2022 Sports OTT Awards for the original documentary “Bordo Mavi”.
Previous to that, he was for nine years the New Media Director of PAOK FC shaping the Digital Strategy and Content Management of the club through its rebranding and digitalization period.
During his reign PAOK FC became the first Greek club named Digital Brand of the Year, title that maintained for two years in a row. PAOK also won 20 domestic Digital Media, 6 domestic and one European Design Award.
PAOK FC was something like the Cinderella story of Sports OTT Awards, winning three awards in 2020 for:
Panagiotis is considered as one of the most influential sports executives in Greece.
Partner & Chief Business Officer
Leander is partner at LaSource, a sports consulting agency based in Bordeaux, Paris and Ghent. Leander has 10+ years experience in the sports business, with extensive expertise in media rights and sports business strategy. At his previous role of CBO at the Belgian Pro League, he was heading the preparation, guidance and negotiation of several of the League’s media rights deals, including the most recent record-breaking exclusive 5-year partnership with Eleven Sports and led the overall business strategy for the league. At LaSource, Leander now advises tech companies, broadcasters, leagues and clubs on areas at the intersection of media, digital and technology.
Principal, Crakes Media
Patrick Crakes has served in various senior executive media roles during the course of his career including several at FOX Sports. During the last six years of his 23-year tenure there he was SVP, Programming, Research and Content Strategy responsible for strategic programming decisions across multiple sports networks and platforms including FOX, FS1, FS2, and FOX Deportes.
EVP, Production & Branded Content
Technical Product Director
Chairman
International Board Member, Chairman and business executive with significant experience in strategy, growth and business development, especially in media and OTT. I’ve been involved in taking new technology into new markets, leading diverse teams to success, including in the very early days of OTT.
My core focus has been to grow businesses. I’ve started companies, sold companies (including my own), am involved in venture investing. I’m currently directing, advising and investing in technology companies plus pro bono mentoring of great people who want to make a difference.
Media Solution Specialist
Media Solution Specialist with long experience in small and large-scale technology solutions in the TV and Media area, as a leader and technical advisor in OTT and streaming media delivery. Magnus works for Eyevinn Technology, an independent consultant company specializing in video streaming, distribution and technology.
Magnus assignments includes streaming solution architecture, technical product management, business development and senior management advisory. Magnus is also involved in strategical assignments helping customers to navigate in the media industry, as well as conducting Technical Due Diligence projects.
Eyevinn are helping content owners, large broadcasters, TV operators, newspapers and technology vendors to solve challenges around streaming.
Content Marketing Director
With a background in political communication, I started my sports journey working for Public Content Partnerships at Facebook in 2011, helping shape the strategy for the top tier sports, media, politics and entertainment clients in the EMEA region across the company’s family of platforms – including Instagram and the Mentions app. Then, I moved to UEFA in 2015, leading social media and digital partnerships, with the scope to drive new business revenue and audience growth for European Football, followed by working for Google Search, leading strategic content partnerships and actions integrations for Media & Sports in EMEA. I joined DFL in 2020, being the first female director across the group. In my current role I am overseeing all B2C activities on the Bundesliga’s owned-and-operated digital channels and across various languages. DFL Digital Sports GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH, responsible for the distribution of the Bundesliga’s digital content. I also serve as member of its executive board.
CEO
Paola Marinone is the Co-Founder and CEO of BuzzMyVideos, a next-generation tech media company that drives hyper-growth & new revenue from and on YouTube.
Paola is an ex Google/YouTube manager turned tech entrepreneur. She is currently based in London, with an international career in technology, and has lived all over the globe, counting 8 countries so far. Having worked for Google in its early days, and then founded BuzzMyVideos, she has lived first hand the transformation of entire industries and built a cutting edge knowledge on anything related to online video.
Founder
CEO & Founder
Founder & CEO at StratNXT, Jerome is a strategically minded and transformative leader with over 20 years of proven track record building purpose-driven brands and driving bottom-line results for global brands operating in direct-to-consumers and experiential industries like live events, entertainment, media and sports
He has been a featured speaker and juror at numerous marketing conferences in North America and Europe including Advertising Week, Mobile World Congress, The Shorty Awards, Sport Technology Awards, Incite Summit, Millennial 20/20 and Forbes CMO Summit. He was also a founding Board Member of The Marketing Society Hub in New York, a Mentor to Adweek’s Executive Mentor Program and is a strategic advisor for high growth companies.
Head of Sports Partnerships
Kahlen leads international Sports Partnerships with Rights Holders, Federations, Leagues, Teams and Athletes at Snap. Focussed on reimagining fandom for the next generation of sports fans, the Sports Partnerships teams enables partners to unlock and realise the potential of Snapchat’s unique audience and technology.
CEO
Nick is the CEO of SportsPro Media, the leading media and conference business covering the business of sports. Nick joined SportsPro in 2010 and has since developed the company into a diversified publisher producing more than 14 million views across its media channels and delivering events in 5 countries annually. Nick is also the host of the StreamTime Podcast, the weekly show interviewing the world’s leading figures in streaming and digital in sports. Nick also serves as the Senior Independent Director for British Volleyball, the governing body responsible for the development of elite pathways for all disciplines of the sport.
Chief Process Officer
Ben has extensive broadcast and digital experience specialising in media rights, content acquisition and distribution, launching D2C services, business development and partnerships.
Formerly heading up the development and launch of ITV’s Pay Per View Boxing service, ITV Box Office, Ben currently oversees business change at FITE, the leading OTT combat sports streaming service, alongside rights acquisition.
Senior Director, Head of Infront Bettor
During my time as MD of deltatre I was responsible for some major OTT product launches- Star Sports (the forerunner to HotStar), Tennis TV and the BT Sport Champions League launch and SKY Sports Event Centre. Post this I left deltatre to set up an OTT business unit at IMG which later became Endeavor Streaming- we launched 4 d2c OTT products to the market in the space of 18 months including the successful Strive football channel. I currently acquire streaming rights for commercialisation in the betting industry for Stats Perform. I am a passionate, optimistic business leader that enjoys finding creative solutions to business challenges in the sports industry.
CEO
Gergo is the CEO and owner of The Team Play, a sports media consultancy, where he merges his entertainment and youth audience growth backgrounds and applies that to sports. Gergo spent 10+ years at premier entertainment companies HBO, Disney and Sony Pictures Television, and consulted streaming company Rakuten TV. Gergo is also an owner of Special Effects Media, a social video company, building audiences across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch and other video platforms.
Head of Digital
Global Strategic Partnerships & Corporate Development, Europe
Head of Business Development & Partnerships
Harvey Moss, Head of Business Development & Partnerships at Global Fan Network, is a sports media professional with expertise in fan-led and digital sports content. Formerly the Head of Social Media, Harvey excels in social strategy, content development, and forging strategic partnerships. He drives innovation and elevates fan experiences in the ever-evolving sports industry.
Media Executive
Paul Kosuth is a media executive with a 25+ year record of achievement and demonstrated success in producing Emmy award-winning multiplatform content programming in highly competitive markets. Extensive management experience in regional sports cable television as general manager, executive producer and remote producer and director. Kosuth’s background includes programming, planning and execution of sports programming; network and local credits; marketing, branding & PR, producing sports, specials and features; live, tape and post-production experience with a technical background. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Broadcasting & Digital Media for the Unites States Equestrian Federation in Lexington, KY, United States.
Vice President Marketing and Media (Sports)
Chief Information Officer
Motasem El Bawab was a former professional basketball player in Brazil and Canada. He currently serves as the Head of Digital & Technology at Volleyball World.
As the Head of Digital of Volleyball World, his role is to lead the teams developing the Digital and Technology ecosystem. In addition, one of his main responsibility is to increase viewership of Volleyball World Properties globally and to drive new revenue streams beyond TV.
Some of his past roles included being the digital projects manager for the International Basketball Federation where he lead their technology, digital architecture and mobile transformation. He also acted as an advisor for several Tech Startups in the MENA region and Japan.
Head of Digital Sport Sales & Partnerships
Deputy Head of Audiovisual Rights International
Born in Berlin, Dennis Galejski studied Sports Science and Economics at the German Sport University in Cologne and at times at State University of New York, College at Cortland. Dennis holds a diploma in Sport Economics and various post-graduate certificates from the UEFA and Sports Business Academy by WHU in the field of football and sports management. After graduation in 2012, Dennis started his career in professional sports at Sportfive, working in Hospitality & Media Sales. After two years Dennis joined the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH, which is responsible for organising and marketing German professional football. Since 2015, Dennis is part of DFL’s Audiovusal Rights department and has been appointed to Deputy Head of Audiovisual Rights International in 2020, being jointly responsible for the strategic development of Bundesliga’s International Product Portfolio. Further he orchestrates Bundesliga’s international production and is responsible for the key accounting of Bundesliga’s international media partners.
Senior Director, International
Alex Sparkes is part of the team responsible for media partnerships, revenue growth and development strategy outside of the USA for WWE. Alex is based in WWE’s London office and has a primary focus on WWE’s international broadcast partnerships across the globe, helping to set the content and platform strategy to maximise value in the evolving broadcast market. The role also involves working closely with teams across WWE, such as Live Events, Marketing, Sponsorship, Consumer Goods and TV Production, to leverage WWE’s IP across all verticals, both D2C and together with partners around the world.
Having joined WWE 2 years ago, Alex previously spent 5 years at the sports streaming business DAZN Group, in a number of roles in the rights acquisition team. Initially in the team focused on long-term global rights partnerships such as FIBA, EHF and CONMEBOL, he moved into the DAZN rights team during the transition from Perform Group. Subsequently, this included a spell living in Tokyo to lead the local rights team for DAZN’s business in Japan, regarded as the largest sports broadcaster in the market and partner to the biggest domestic Japanese and global rights holders.
Chief Commercial Officer
Gabrielle Guedj is the Director of Commercial Rights Sales & New Business Development at ATP Media, previously at IMG and its subsidiary SNTV for 22 years as Senior Vice President in Media looking after various territories in Europe and MENA.
A sociologist by formation, Gabrielle has lived in France, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in her formative years . She has studied in the Czech republic ( and is a fluent Czech speaker ) and lived in her native France before relocating to the UK where she has been based for most of her professional life.
OTT Marketing and Customer Relationship Manager
OTT Marketing and Customer Relationship manager with 13 years of experience in projects related to OTT, Pay tv, entertainment, sports and sports Rights. Currently working at Group Mediapro managing branding, advertising campaigns and customer´s strategy in several OTT projects. Also coordination of digital highlights strategy. Bachelor degree in Advertising and Public Relations (2002/2007) at Pontifical University of Salamanca and in Audiovisual Communication (2006/2008) at University of Salamanca.
Executive Producer
David Pagán has over 15 years of TV Production experience. Beginning his career and moving up the ranks while at ESPN in Bristol, to being chosen as part of the team to launch the ESPN Los Angeles production facility and produce SportsCenter until later landing with FOX Sports to help launch FS1 in 2013. Now, as Executive Producer with Fubo Sports, David currently leads the Original Content Production team overseeing the creation and execution of all original programming.
CEO & CO-founder
Jean Manuel Jimenez launched Pulse after 20 yrs. of experience in brand building and commercial development. He was integral to Inter Miami CF’s expansion journey, playing a key role in establishing its digital content identity and reputation for bold, digital, and broadcast ideations. Launching the first MLS’s club owned streaming service, Jimenez brings a wealth of industry success launching OTT immersive fan experiences commercial growth and business development. Jean Manuel Led content and digital for Concacaf for 6 years prior where he significantly redefined their digital platforms to better connect with the game and fans across the region. He has worked in numerous global tournaments including Copa America, Concacaf Champions League, and Gold Cup.
The Dominican Republic native comes from a solid commercial and business development background, stemming from years servicing brands across the U.S. Hispanic market and Latin America with Mobile Messaging Solutions (MMS), a mobile marketing agency.
Jimenez also worked for OZ Sports leading the commercial department, a broadcast and production company that leverages robotics and artificial intelligence to deliver white label OTT solutions. He holds a degree from State University of New York College at Plattsburgh and lives in Miami with his wife and three kids.
Production Lead
As Production Lead for NBA Asia, Colin oversees the development and execution of original content in the region. This includes creating compelling narratives for NBA owned-and-operated and direct-to-consumer channels as well as content to power various media and marketing partners.
Prior to the NBA, Colin was a studio director for Premier League Productions/IMG in London, having previously worked on the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, Olympics, Formula 1 and Wimbledon Championships.
Chief Digital Officer
David Guinan is a digital executive with 25+ years of experience in digital and emerging media. He specializes in product development and leveraging emerging technologies to effectively engage new audiences. Throughout his career, David has successfully produced commercial work, branded content, and XR experiences for renowned brands such as Adidas, The Armory Show, English Premiere League, NBC, MTV, Sundance, IFC, and Paul McCartney.
David currently spearheads the product development of Rural Media Group’s Cowboy Channel + app and streaming service. Under his guidance, the platform achieved remarkable growth, generating over $14 million in revenue and attracting a subscriber base of over 100,000 in less than four years. He also led teams in creating XR products and experiences for notable clients, including Orion Health, UNMC, NET, and Standard Nutrition.
Director of Production
General Counsel
Karen Lorenzo is General Counsel, as well as Corporate Secretary and a founding team member, of League One Volleyball (LOVB), a first-of-its-kind community re-imagining the future of volleyball (including launch of a women’s pro indoor league in the United States). Prior to LOVB, Karen was General Counsel and EVP, Business Affairs at Tribeca Enterprises, a multi-platform storytelling company established in 2003 by Robert De Niro, where Karen was part of the management team responsible for growing Tribeca from a once-a-year, non-profit event into a network of year-round, for-profit branded entertainment businesses, including the world-renowned Tribeca Film Festival. Karen began her legal career as an associate at a boutique entertainment law firm in New York and spent several years as an associate at leading Silicon Valley law firms where she specialized in handling transactions and operational counselling for clients focused on the cross-section of media and technology.
Head of Growth
Anand leads commercial, marketing, branding and fan & athlete engagement as the Head of Growth at the Professional Squash Association (PSA). In this role Anand oversaw the relaunch of the PSA’s OTT platform (SQUASHTV) and securing additional distribution channels for squash content. Prior to joining the PSA, Anand headed up brand and digital at Panasonic, including leading the activation of their Olympic and Team GB sponsorship.
Director of Sport
Robbie Spargo is Director of Sport at Little Dot Studios, an award-winning digital content agency and media network headquartered in London. Robbie joined Little Dot Studios in 2017, forging partnerships with The FA and Eurosport to add to a sports portfolio that included (and still includes) the ECB and FIA Formula E. He now oversees a team of 50 people, servicing around 30 retained sports partners with digital strategy, content creation, social management, video distribution, and content monetisation. Starting his career at FremantleMedia, Robbie developed the highly successful YouTube partnership for the global format-owners of The X Factor, Idols and Got Talent in the early years of the platform’s expansion into premium content. He subsequently moved to New Zealand to work at TVNZ, launching TVNZ OnDemand Shorts and running an innovation lab to source new talent, content and distribution channels. He lives in Lewisham with his wife and two young daughters.
President
Fred Santarpia is a digital media and business transformation expert. He currently serves as president of Endeavor Streaming, where he spearheads the company’s global expansion strategy. Before joining Endeavor Streaming, Fred was chief operating officer at Moda Operandi and, previously, chief digital officer at Condé Nast, where he founded and launched the digital arm of Condé Nast’s entertainment division. Fred was also a founding member of the leadership team at VEVO and served as EVP & general manager. Prior to VEVO, Fred worked at Universal Music Group in a variety of senior leadership roles. Fred is a graduate of Villanova University and holds an M.S. in finance from Boston University. He currently resides in New Jersey.
CEO
SVP
Patrick leads Sportradar’s streaming business towards sports betting as well as OTT / media industries. As part of this, Patrick manages a team of experienced product managers & video engineers across seven locations. Further he owns the video & live streaming product roadmaps, manages & develops relationships with key clients in the sports betting & OTT space as well as drives Sportradar’s strategic product partnerships in this product segment.
Patrick joined Sportradar in July 2016 while being originally with the sportsman media holding (which became part of the Sportradar group in 2016) since 2014. He previously co-founded fanreport.com – the Austrian sports publisher specialised in grassroots football. He studied Marketing & Communication at the University of Applied Sciences in St.Poelten as well as Marketing & Sales at the Danube Business School and is now active as a lecturer in Digital Business at the University FHWKW in Vienna.
Patrick is based in Vienna, Austria.
Head of Sports, Global Professional Services
Julie Souza leads the Global Sports Practice for AWS Professional Services, driving innovation in sports data (tracking, AI/ML/CV), virtualized production, direct-to-consumer interactivity and monetization, fan data and analytics, and smart venue solutions. Prior to joining AWS, Julie led Strategy and Business Development for Second Spectrum, the official data analytics partner of the NBA, EPL, MLS, and others. She held similar roles leading business development and driving strategy for ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and CBS Sports Network. Julie holds a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Managing Director, Ventures
Tom McJennett is a Managing Director, Ventures at Two Circles, leading the development and growth of rights holder DTC propositions, notably NFL Game Pass International, a three-time winner at the OTT awards and Courtside 1891.
Previously, Tom was the Head of Global Marketing for the International Olympic Committee, launching their OTT platform, the Olympic Channel in 2016.
Director, Business & Legal Affairs
Zehra Betul Ayranci is a Director, Business & Legal Affairs at FOX Sports, overseeing remote operations for the production of global sporting events in soccer, football, baseball, motorsports, rugby, basketball, and more. Prior to her current role, Betul served as the sole legal counsel and main point of contact to FOX’s sports rights acquisitions in Europe, Middle East and Africa, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Native of Turkey, Betul has over 12 years of practice experience, as an award-wining lawyer, board member, public speaker, and published author, across five continents, in sports, tech, and scripted and non-scripted entertainment industries. Holding an LL.M. degree with Fulbright Scholarship, Betul is currently pursuing a PhD degree at University of California Berkeley Law with a dissertation on the intersection of law, economics, and policy in the content industries in the digital streaming era.